The marine survey for V265 Vinfalle is not good. I uploaded the
survey document in rich text format to the files section. Based on
the survey, I'm not sure what to do next. The decks are
completely saturated with moisture. The surveyor commented that he
has never seen a foam-cored Vega deck so wet before. The entire top
skin would have to be cut and removed, so that the foam can dry out.
Then the deck skin would have to be replaced. The aft half of the
keel is bulging from moisture. The laminates have lost all
strength. The recommended repair is to grind all the gelcoat and
most of the fiberglass laminates from this area and re-laminate with
new glass.
However, the worst repair, is the one that almost kept me from buying
the boat. My first response to seeing the boat and the mud-cracked
gelcoat was, "No way am I going to grind all that gelcoat off and
refinish this boat". However, all the books and web sites I
looked at, kept saying that all you needed to do was cover the
cracked gelcoat with a high build epoxy primer. So I convinced my
self to take a chance on it. However, the surveyor said the high
build epoxy primer does not work as well as the manufacturer's
claim. He said in my case, with the severity of the cracking, that
the primer/paint would just crack back open again. The other reason
for removing the entire gelcoat, is that the moisture levels are high
in the entire bottom and about 12 inches (30 cm) of the freeboard.
The gelcoat needs to come off to allow the laminates to dry. Then
I'm
looking at a full boat fairing and finishing job.
So in summary, I'm almost building a new boat, from the remains
of the old boat. The boat needs about US$5000 in materials, not
including engine/boom/sails/safety equipment, just to look like a
boat again. As I see it my options are;
1) Don't get any deeper in the hole with this boat. Sell it,
donate it, or scrap it for parts. Look around for a better
condition Vega.
2) Just do the keel repair, get a boom, some sails, and put some
miles on it. So what if it's the ugliest boat in the harbor, at
least you'll get some fiberglass repair experience.
3) Just do it! Completely rebuild the boat, despite the time, money,
and labor involved.
My common sense is telling me to do #1. However, I keep trying to
convince myself that getting something out of the boat, like #2,
would be good. There is only a very tiny inner voice that says do #3.
Chris
V265 Vinfalle
survey document in rich text format to the files section. Based on
the survey, I'm not sure what to do next. The decks are
completely saturated with moisture. The surveyor commented that he
has never seen a foam-cored Vega deck so wet before. The entire top
skin would have to be cut and removed, so that the foam can dry out.
Then the deck skin would have to be replaced. The aft half of the
keel is bulging from moisture. The laminates have lost all
strength. The recommended repair is to grind all the gelcoat and
most of the fiberglass laminates from this area and re-laminate with
new glass.
However, the worst repair, is the one that almost kept me from buying
the boat. My first response to seeing the boat and the mud-cracked
gelcoat was, "No way am I going to grind all that gelcoat off and
refinish this boat". However, all the books and web sites I
looked at, kept saying that all you needed to do was cover the
cracked gelcoat with a high build epoxy primer. So I convinced my
self to take a chance on it. However, the surveyor said the high
build epoxy primer does not work as well as the manufacturer's
claim. He said in my case, with the severity of the cracking, that
the primer/paint would just crack back open again. The other reason
for removing the entire gelcoat, is that the moisture levels are high
in the entire bottom and about 12 inches (30 cm) of the freeboard.
The gelcoat needs to come off to allow the laminates to dry. Then
I'm
looking at a full boat fairing and finishing job.
So in summary, I'm almost building a new boat, from the remains
of the old boat. The boat needs about US$5000 in materials, not
including engine/boom/sails/safety equipment, just to look like a
boat again. As I see it my options are;
1) Don't get any deeper in the hole with this boat. Sell it,
donate it, or scrap it for parts. Look around for a better
condition Vega.
2) Just do the keel repair, get a boom, some sails, and put some
miles on it. So what if it's the ugliest boat in the harbor, at
least you'll get some fiberglass repair experience.
3) Just do it! Completely rebuild the boat, despite the time, money,
and labor involved.
My common sense is telling me to do #1. However, I keep trying to
convince myself that getting something out of the boat, like #2,
would be good. There is only a very tiny inner voice that says do #3.
Chris
V265 Vinfalle